Girl Scouts Decry Idaho Sales Tax

As Girl Scouts fan out across the state for their annual cookie sale, 22 cents of every $3.75 box they sell in Idaho will go to the state, rather than to Girl Scout programs, under current tax policy. The Girl Scouts of the Silver Sage Council aim to change that, so they’re pushing for legislation this year to end Idaho’s distinction as one of just two states – Hawaii is the other – that still taxes Girl Scout cookies. Removing Idaho’s 6 percent sales tax from the fundraiser cookies would cost the state roughly $140,000 a year, according to legislation being sponsored by state Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, and co-sponsored by state Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise. But the Girl Scouts say the money goes to a great cause: 23 percent of Silver Sage girl scouts are on scholarship, and the money to pay for their membership fees, badges, sashes and for camp comes from the cookie sale/Betsy Russell, SR. More here.(Betsy Russell photo: Reps. Ron Mendive, R-Coeur d’Alene, left, and Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, talk to Brownie Ella Marcum-Hart, 9, Monday)

Question: Should the Girls Scouts get an exemption from Idaho for their cookies?

Posted Feb. 18, 2013, 1:08 p.m.

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